How Kristjaan Speakman sells Sunderland to transfer targets amid better financial offers elsewhere

Sunderland have enjoyed a decent record regarding incoming transfer deals in recent seasons.

Gone are the big-spending Premier League years, which became unsustainable and ultimately caused Sunderland’s double-relegation demise from the top-flight to League One.

Then came four seasons in the third tier during which, for the most part, Sunderland didn’t have an overarching transfer strategy. The club certainly failed to utilise many of its unique selling points to players as it languished during the worst period of its entire 145-year history.

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Under the sporting directorship of Kristjaan Speakman, that has changed. Sunderland are now renowned for signing young players (for the most part) and nurturing talent from its famed academy. The idea is to up-skill players before eventually selling them for larger figures and reinvesting whilst also seeking promotion.

It is undoubtedly a tight balancing act and the strategy is not without some flaws. Broadly speaking, though, it has worked for Sunderland so far. In terms of where the club was to where it is now is night and day, though it was admittedly a low bar and there have been some well-documented stumbling blocks along the way.

Sunderland are now fishing for highly-rated young players in crowded waters. Summer signings Milan Aleksic and Ahmed Abdullahi were sought after and Speakman faced intense competition for their signatures. The same can be said of previous signings in windows gone by.

However, despite not always being able to offer the best contract from a monetary standpoint, Sunderland’s sporting director has utilised the club’s assets: the facilities, the size, the passion, the opportunity to play, the pathway and the coaching set-up to convince recruits.

“I mean, from a contractual piece, I'm not convinced we're necessarily the best offer,” Speakman admitted when asked about how he goes about persuading players with interest elsewhere to join Sunderland.

He continued: “I don't think we have been for a number of players that we've recruited because we're really, really confident in our structure. One of the things we're often saying to the players is that there are cash benefits and there are non-cash benefits. 

“We think we're one of the strongest, if not the strongest propositions on those non-cash benefits. The amount of money that's been invested into development and progression at the Academy of Light and for a performance piece at the stadium, I don't think is rivalled very easily and there's the piece that is really, really difficult to compete with, which is your culture and your values.”

Dan Neil and Anthony Patterson have come up through Sunderland’s academy system, so too have Chris Rigg and Tommy Watson alongside Elliot Embleton before his move to Blackpool in the summer. Zak Johnson and Harrison Jones are currently on the fringes too.

Sunderland have - for the most part - also bought well with the likes of Patrick Roberts, Dan Ballard, Dennis Cirkin, Trai Hume, Aji Alese, Pierre Ekwah, Romaine Mundle, Eliezer Mayenda, Jobe Bellingham and Jack Clarke arriving as relative youngsters and with points to prove.

There have, of course, been some transfer “failures”. Hemir didn’t work out before his loan move to Juventus and it was the same story with Timothee Pembele. Nazariy Rusyn hasn’t caught fire and Adil Aouchiche looks to be out of favour under current head coach Régis Le Bris as things stand.

It isn’t a hundred per cent perfect record by any means but there have been, on balance, more good signings than bad in the context of where Sunderland find themselves now compared to where they were in League One.

The class of Callum McFadzean and Max Power didn’t provide an opportunity for growth or any re-sale value but now the club is filled with potential profit and Sunderland’s squad profile has been transformed. Though the ride has not always been without issues admittedly with the Black Cats finishing 16th in the Championship last season after the previous season’s play-off campaign amid a managerial merry-go-round.

However, one of Sunderland’s early success stories under Speakman was the emergence of Manchester City loanee Callum Doyle at the Stadium of Light during the club’s final League One season. Just 17 years old when he made the move to Wearside, Doyle played 44 times in all competitions as the Black Cats were promoted.

Sunderland handled the player well and afforded him game time and a chance to grow in front of an expectant crowd. It was good schooling for the young prospect. Crucially, decision-makers - including then-head coach Alex Neil - took the fatigued defender out of the firing line towards the back end of the campaign.

“We believe in young players,” Speakman added on why players come to the North East to play for the Black Cats. “We believe in young people. We believe in players that want to get better. One of the reasons we took Callum Doyle when we very first came here is we needed some proof points to be able to say, you can come here. We're going to believe in you. You'll get your opportunity if you do all the relevant things correctly and you can leave in a better position. 

“I think if you look at Callum, who became one of our earliest young players, we used an external player to do that with, we've got a number of proof points. So whether that's Rigg, whether that's Matty Young, whether that's Jobe, whether that's any of the other players that have come into this football club.

“I think we've demonstrated we've been able to improve them and add value and I think young players are getting more astute now, I think, than ever before to try to look at where opportunities are and where can I go and grow and develop? Like I said, we're getting more and more people coming to us now to say, look, there's this player, I think he'd be perfect for you, which I think, again, puts Sunderland in such a fantastic position.”